Chapter Summaries

Li Yuan bought supplies and equipped the Spirit Gathering Ring, then joined a Wang Family-led expedition southwest of the market. The group took a deliberate detour through dense terrain, avoiding certain areas as they headed toward the Yuanheng Mountains.

• Li Yuan spent Spirit Stones on Talismans, Origin Recovery Pills, and the Spirit Gathering Ring.
• Li Yuan equipped the ring, expanded his Spirit Qi absorption range, and began working toward making its Spirit Convergence Affix permanent.
• Li Yuan reached Mastery in the Nurturing Origin Technique and noticed a change in how his Vital Blood circulated.
• Li Yuan joined He Shou, Fang He, and the other patrol and Wang Family members outside the East Gate of the market.
• The Guard Squad captain led the group southwest, and Li Yuan noticed they were taking an arcing route to avoid certain areas.

Li Yuan’s party traveled deeper into the Yuanheng Mountains while the Wang Family searched the terrain for signs of something beyond Demonic Beasts. At their valley camp, they learned that the Wang Family had discovered remnants of a large, abandoned formation and planned to investigate the area the next day.

• Fang He pointed out Demonic Beast traces as the party advanced, while the vanguard guards swiftly killed several beasts that crossed their route.
• During a rest, Fang He told Li Yuan that the Wang Family seemed to be searching the terrain rather than clearing Demonic Beasts.
• The party reached a valley at dusk, where two Wang Family members returned with broken stones bearing faint patterns.
• He Shou told Li Yuan that the stones held remnants of Spirit Patterns from a failed formation, with similar traces found at several places in the valley.
• He Shou explained that Captain Wang planned to split the party into teams to investigate the formation traces the next day.
• Li Yuan cultivated at camp with a Spirit Stone, and his Spirit Convergence Permanent Progress reached 5/10.

Li Yuan’s search team found traces of a large Spirit Pattern formation in the valley while he advanced his Spirit Guiding Art to Major Accomplishment. After permanently converting Spirit Convergence, he unlocked a third Equipment Slot and filled it with the Iron Ox Technique and Flame Snake Tube.

• Li Yuan, He Shou, Chen Qi, Liu Ping, and Xu Mao found several carved Spirit Pattern traces, which the Guard Squad captain and Wang Family members connected into part of a larger formation.
• Li Yuan reached Major Accomplishment in the Spirit Guiding Art, improving his cultivation efficiency and ability to absorb Spirit Stones.
• Chen Qi complained about the dangerous search, but He Shou reminded him that his contract bound him to the work.
• Li Yuan permanently converted Spirit Convergence and unlocked his third Equipment Slot.
• Li Yuan equipped the Iron Ox Technique and Flame Snake Tube, bringing his active Equipment Slots to three.

Li Yuan’s group fought several Demonic Beasts, but Xu Mao and Liu Ping were injured, forcing He Shou to call a retreat. On the way back, they found looted corpses and more traces of an array, then met Fang He’s badly wounded team, which had lost a member to a group of unusually strong beasts.

• Li Yuan’s increasingly precise spells helped the group kill several Demonic Beasts, and his Ice Spike Technique advanced to Proficiency.
• A Horned Lizard broke Liu Ping’s leg, joining Xu Mao as an injured member, so He Shou ordered the group to retreat.
• The group found three stripped corpses, and He Shou and Li Yuan concluded that someone had killed and looted them.
• Li Yuan spotted more array traces on a shale cliff, and He Shou marked their location on his map.
• Near camp, the group met Fang He’s team, which had suffered one death and several injuries after three mid-grade beasts attacked them.

After the mountain operation, Li Yuan returned to Qinghe Market, where he noticed unusual groups of traveling merchants and heard news about nearby regions. Wang De then rewarded Li Yuan for his valuable intelligence by granting him access to choose one cultivation technique or spell from the third floor of the Scripture Pavilion.

• He Shou reported the formation traces and said the patrol teams would withdraw to the market that night while Wang Family personnel remained behind.
• Li Yuan helped the wounded return to the market and noticed well-equipped traveling merchants discussing dangers on the roads, the Yuanyang Sect, and conditions at Li Family Market.
• Li Yuan registered the operation the next morning and received four Spirit Stones and fifteen Contribution Points, while the formation discovery reward remained pending.
• Wang De told Li Yuan that his earlier intelligence had helped the Wang Family and gave him approval to select one technique or spell from the third floor of the Hidden Merit Pavilion.

Li Yuan chose the Hundred Meridians Origin Return Art from the Hidden Merit Pavilion after discovering its blue trait, then equipped it and began cultivating it. He found that the technique harmonized his energies and refined his spirit power, though its cultivation cycle was slower than the Spirit Guiding Art.

• Li Yuan searched the third floor of the Hidden Merit Pavilion and found two books with blue traits: Mystic Light Slash and Hundred Meridians Origin Return Art.
• Li Yuan chose Hundred Meridians Origin Return Art, registered the book with the guard, and left the pavilion.
• Li Yuan overheard traveling merchants discussing a Second-Order Demonic Beast found torn apart in the mountains, and learned that cultivators were avoiding the middle section.
• Li Yuan equipped Hundred Meridians Origin Return Art, replacing the Flame Snake Tube, and its blue trait harmonized the circulation of his spirit power and vital blood.
• Li Yuan began cultivating the new art and found that it drew energy through branching meridians, producing higher-quality spirit power than the Spirit Guiding Art.

Li Yuan learned that his Qi Refining Fifth Layer breakthrough qualified him as a Patrol Squad vice-captain and began patrolling the crowded market. He said farewell to Old Zhang and Zhang Qiu as they left for Li Family Market, carrying a talisman manual and supplies he had given them.

• Wang De confirmed Li Yuan’s promotion to vice-captain, assigned him two future newcomers, and told him to focus on market patrols.
• Li Yuan observed that Traveling Merchants were filling East Street’s stalls and drawing customers away from local Rogue Cultivators.
• Old Zhang told Li Yuan that he and Zhang Qiu were moving to Li Family Market to escape rising costs and competition, and said they would join a caravan for the journey.
• Old Zhang gave Li Yuan his handwritten Talisman Crafting Manual, which his panel identified as a complete equipable item.
• Li Yuan gave Old Zhang and Zhang Qiu talismans and Healing Pills, then watched them leave and continued his patrol.

Li Yuan studied Old Zhang’s talisman-making manual, alternated two cultivation arts, and bought supplies to begin practicing talisman making. He completed his first Cleaning Talisman and discovered that crafting it advanced his skills and the manual’s permanent progress.

• Li Yuan reviewed the manual’s lessons and the Panel’s requirements for making its Talisman Crafting Insight affix permanent.
• Li Yuan alternated the Spirit Guiding Art with the Hundred Meridians Origin Return Art, refining and increasing the spirit qi in his dantian.
• Li Yuan bought talisman paper, cinnabar, spirit ink, and a brush at Wu’s Talisman Materials, then equipped Old Zhang’s manual.
• Li Yuan ruined five sheets while practicing before completing a Cleaning Talisman on the sixth.
• Li Yuan saw that the talisman was complete and that his Talisman Crafting Art, Cleaning Talisman, and permanent-progress counters had advanced.

Li Yuan took charge of Zhao Hu, Zheng Xiaoman, and the recovering Sun Liang, then trained the two newcomers in market patrol procedures and basic outer-patrol skills. The chapter ended with the recruits learning that survival mattered most when facing Demonic Beasts.

• Wang De assigned Zhao Hu, Zheng Xiaoman, and Sun Liang to Li Yuan and told him to train the newcomers for market and outer patrols.
• Li Yuan led Zhao Hu and Zheng Xiaoman through the market, explained patrol rules, and showed them how Traveling Merchants had affected local vendors.
• Li Yuan mediated a dispute between a Rogue Cultivator and a Traveling Merchant, ruling that sellers could set their own prices but could not disrupt market order.
• Li Yuan pointed out patrol trouble spots, bought materials for Warding Talismans, and introduced the recruits to tracking and responding to beasts.
• Li Yuan taught Zhao Hu and Zheng Xiaoman that the most important rule of outer patrols was to return alive.

Li Yuan completed his first Warding Talisman and continued training his new patrol recruits. He also tested Old Sun’s revised Fiend Essence Pills and found their backlash milder, leaving him ready to report his results.

• Li Yuan failed to draw seven Warding Talismans before completing one on his eighth attempt, and the Panel displayed its Gray Warding affix and a condition to kill a Low-grade First-Order Yin Ghost.
• Over the next two days, Li Yuan trained Zhao Hu and Zheng Xiaoman on patrols, then assigned them to patrol East Street and North Alley on their own.
• Li Yuan visited Old Sun, who gave him two Fiend Essence Pills made with Soul-Calming Flower to reduce their harm to internal organs by twenty to thirty percent.
• Li Yuan took the first revised pill and found its Fiend Qi gentler and its effects faster to absorb than those of the old formula.
• Li Yuan took the second pill and noted his impressions so he could tell Old Sun the next day.

Li Yuan browsed the market, bought a Calm Heart Plaque with a Gray Mind Stability Affix, and learned that the Loose Cultivator Market lacked reliable protection. He then bought Changqing Rice to make its Grain Qi Focus Affix permanent, and after equipping it and eating one jin, he began progressing toward the five-jin requirement.

• Li Yuan inspected a Dark Iron Bracer but declined to buy it because it cost too many Spirit Stones and he did not need its defensive Affix.
• Li Yuan bought a Calm Heart Plaque for four Spirit Stones and discovered that its Mind Stability Affix could become permanent after three hours of cultivation amid mental interference or a sufficiently powerful mental attack.
• Li Yuan overheard a traveling merchant explain that the Loose Cultivator Market had no Foundation Establishment cultivator stationed to protect it, unlike Qinghe Market under the Wang Family.
• Li Yuan bought six jin of Changqing Rice, equipped one jin to gain Grain Qi Focus, and found that it reduced his mental fatigue during cultivation.
• Li Yuan ate one jin of Changqing Rice and advanced Grain Qi Focus's permanent retention progress to 1/5, estimating he could finish the remaining rice the next day.

Li Yuan practiced talisman making, bought a method for Warning Talismans, and reported a suspected Breath-Concealing Jade Pendant user to Wang De. He learned the Patrol Squad would not provide talisman instruction, so he asked Old Sun to find him a Talisman Maker willing to teach.

• Li Yuan permanently affixed Grain Qi Focus, equipped the Talisman Crafting Manual, and practiced making Cleaning and Warding Talismans.
• Li Yuan bought a Warning Talisman crafting method and its materials after failing to find advanced talisman-making methods at market stalls.
• Li Yuan detected the medicinal scent associated with a Breath-Concealing Jade Pendant in a side alley and told Wang De, who said the Patrol Squad was already watching the person.
• Wang De explained that the Wang Family did not provide Talisman Crafting Arts to patrol members and suggested Li Yuan ask the Guard Squad for help.
• Li Yuan asked Old Sun about learning talisman making, and Old Sun offered to ask his craftsman contacts whether anyone would teach him.

Li Yuan crafted Warning Talismans, discovered that crafting them let the System Panel recognize other talismans, and was summoned to guide an Array Master to traces in the mountains. After hearing reports about Li Family Market’s expansion and the growing number of Demonic Beasts around Qinghe Market, he connected the clues and worried that the Wang Family might put him at risk.

• Li Yuan crafted a Warning Talisman on his seventh attempt, saw its Danger Perception affix, and reached Entry Level in Talisman Crafting Art after making another.
• Li Yuan found that the System Panel now recognized other cultivators’ talismans and some spirit grains, and guessed that crafting or equipping similar items had changed how the Panel responded.
• Zhao Hu told Li Yuan that Wang De wanted him at the station, where Wang De explained that Li Yuan and He Shou would guide an Array Master to inspect traces in the mountains.
• Li Yuan overheard Rogue Cultivators say Li Family Market was expanding while its surroundings remained free of Demonic Beasts, and recalled reports of beast-related threats and unusual activity.
• Li Yuan reviewed the clues about Zhao Wu, the Crow Claw Gang, beast migrations, and Qinghe Market’s decline, then worried that the Wang Family might sell him out and began cultivating.

Li Yuan continued practicing talisman crafting and learned that a talisman master would trade instruction for a rare craft he might obtain from Fang He. Wang De assigned Li Yuan to help two Wang Family members follow Qian Si, and Li Yuan prepared for the task while continuing to cultivate.

• Li Yuan completed a Warding Talisman and saw his Talisman Crafting Insight reach 31/50.
• Old Sun told Li Yuan that a visiting talisman master exchanged instruction for niche techniques, including making talisman paper from Demonic Beast fur and hide; Li Yuan recalled Fang He knew that craft.
• Zhao Hu summoned Li Yuan to the Patrol Squad station, where Wang De identified Qian Si as a Qi Refining Fifth Layer herbal gatherer suspected of meeting people outside the market.
• Wang De assigned Li Yuan to follow Qian Si alongside Wang Qi and Wang Yuan, gave him a Breath-Concealing Talisman, and said the two Wang Family members would meet him the next morning.
• Li Yuan collected medicinal paste from Old Sun, returned home, and cultivated with the Spirit Guiding Art and the Hundred Meridians Origin Return Art.

Li Yuan and Wang Qi and Wang Yuan followed Qian Si and witnessed him exchange a scroll for a pouch with a concealed man. They returned to report the meeting to Wang De, and Li Yuan continued practicing talisman-making at home, bringing his Talisman Crafting Insight permanence progress to 43/50.

• Li Yuan prepared Breath-Concealing Medicinal Liquid and joined Wang Qi and Wang Yuan to wait for Qian Si at the market’s East Gate.
• The three followed Qian Si out of the market and watched him exchange a rolled-up object for a pouch with a man wearing a bamboo hat.
• Wang Yuan stopped Wang Qi from arresting Qian Si so they could avoid alerting the rest of the suspected operation.
• Wang Qi and Wang Yuan reported to the Wang Family, while Li Yuan returned to the Patrol Squad headquarters and gave Wang De their findings.
• Li Yuan practiced Cleaning, Warding, and Warning Talismans at home, raising his Talisman Crafting Insight permanence progress to 43/50.

Li Yuan joined Wang De’s group in the mountains to help an Array Master inspect traces of an ancient array. He discovered that a buried stone identified by his panel as a Spirit-Containing Yuyang Stone, leaving its true nature unknown.

• Li Yuan completed the permanent conversion of Talisman Crafting Insight and set out with the Patrol Squad to guide an Array Master through the mountains.
• Li Yuan agreed to pay Fang He twenty Spirit Stones to learn the principles of making talisman paper from Demonic Beast hides.
• Li Yuan led Senior Zhou and the others to several sites where array traces had been found.
• Senior Zhou concluded that the traces were nodes of a grand array requiring several experienced Foundation Establishment Realm Array Masters to construct.
• Senior Zhou identified a ruined Yuyang Stone as the Array Eye of a small array and explained that its structure had to be deduced from surrounding node patterns.
• Li Yuan touched the buried stone and saw his panel identify it as a Spirit-Containing Yuyang Stone with a Green-level affix.

Li Yuan secretly unequipped the Iron Ox Technique and equipped the buried Spirit-Containing Yuyang Stone, gaining a Green trait that strengthened fire spells and let Demonic Beast meat nourish his body. After returning from the valley, he cultivated the Hundred Meridians Origin Return Art and found spirit qi moving more smoothly through his meridians.

• Array master surnamed Zhou mapped the outer array traces and sent the guides into teams to search the valley outskirts, while Wang Yuan warned against venturing deeper without more people.
• Li Yuan separated from Fang He, returned to the buried Yuyang Stone, and discovered its Spirit-Containing Yuyang Stone trait and the conditions for making it permanent.
• Li Yuan replaced the Iron Ox Technique with the Spirit-Containing Yuyang Stone, then concealed the excavation before rejoining Fang He.
• Array master surnamed Zhou concluded that the array's purpose required investigation deeper inside, and Wang Yuan led the group back to the market town.
• Fang He offered to teach Li Yuan hide processing, and Li Yuan returned home to cultivate, improving the flow of spirit qi through his meridians.

Li Yuan tested the improved Fireball Technique, bought and cultivated with Monster Meat, and received rewards and leatherworking instructions. After eating more meat and circulating the Nurturing Origin Technique, he reached Minor Accomplishment.

• Li Yuan tested his Fireball Technique on a boulder and found its power had increased by just over ten percent.
• Li Yuan bought two pieces of Iron-Horned Antelope meat, ate some, and used the Nurturing Origin Technique to absorb its strengthening warmth.
• Sun Liang delivered five Spirit Stones and twenty Contribution Points from Captain Wang, who warned that Li Yuan might soon enter the mountain for a more dangerous task.
• Fang He gave Li Yuan a leatherworking booklet and invited him to learn the process on his next rest day.
• Li Yuan ate more Monster Meat and circulated the Nurturing Origin Technique until it reached Minor Accomplishment.

Li Yuan learned how to make Beast-Skin Talisman Paper from Fang He and practiced preparing and using it. He then traded the paper-making method and a supplier channel to Talisman Master Lu for the Fireball Talisman drawing method and Fire Arrow Technique.

• Fang He demonstrated how to degrease, flatten, split, and cut beast hide into talisman paper, then gave Li Yuan hides, medicinal liquid, and tools to practice with.
• Li Yuan made his first rough sheet of Beast-Skin Talisman Paper and drew a Cleaning Talisman on it, producing a weak, barely usable result.
• Li Yuan asked Old Sun to take him to Talisman Master Lu, whom he offered the Beast-Skin Talisman Paper method and a supplier channel in exchange for the Fireball Talisman method and Fire Arrow Technique.
• Talisman Master Lu accepted Li Yuan's offer and handed over the booklet and Bamboo Slip.
• Li Yuan studied the Fireball Talisman drawing method and Fire Arrow Technique, then placed the Bamboo Slip beside his pillow and began cultivating.

Li Yuan learned the Fire Arrow Technique, bought talisman paper, and was summoned to help search for formation nodes in the mountains. He prepared by cultivating before the patrol set out the next morning.

• Li Yuan practiced the Fire Arrow Technique at Rocky Beach until his shots flew straight and pierced stone.
• Li Yuan heard that a Yuanyang Sect cultivator had reached the Golden Core realm while visiting the marketplace.
• Li Yuan bought two bundles of Green-Veined Paper from Wu's Talisman Materials.
• Sun Liang summoned Li Yuan to the garrison, where Wang De told him to assist Formation Master Zhou in locating new formation nodes the next morning.
• Li Yuan returned home and cultivated to improve his strength before entering the mountains.